The upcoming reboot of The Twilight Zone from Jordan Peele continues to add impressive names to its already exciting roster of talent. The latest confirmed cast members include Deadpool 2 star Zazie Beetz and Get Out star Betty Gabriel, according to Deadline.
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The Twilight Zone features host and narrator Jordan Peele, as well as Ike Barinholtz, John Cho, Taissa Farmiga, Ginnifer Goodwin, Greg Kinnear, Luke Kirby, Sanaa Lathan, Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Scott, Rhea Seehorn, Alison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Jessica Williams, DeWanda Wise, and Steven Yeun.
The original series was created by Rod Serling and debuted in 1959, running through 1964. Various reimaginings of the property debuted in 1985 and in 2002, in addition to a feature film adaptation debuting in theaters in 1983.
A key component of The Twilight Zone is that it would regularly include a moral, with each episode’s hero coming to a surprising revelation by the end of their journey. Jordan Peele’s breakout success was the sketch series Key and Peele, before moving on to writing and directing features films like Get Out. This film became a major cultural sensation, as it not only delivered viewers a thrilling tale, but also used the genre to shine a light on social issues in new ways.
Despite Peele seeming like a perfect fit for the series, he was initially apprehensive about taking on the project.
“I was terrified,” Peele previously shared with Variety. “Why would I ever jump into the most established, pristine shoes in all of the genre? I could rip Twilight Zone off and call it something different and not be compared to Rod Serling. So I stepped away from it. And then several months later I got another call.”
The other call came from producing partner Simon Kinberg.
“The realization, for me, was that it was an opportunity to attempt to continue with Serling’s mission,” Peele admitted. “If we approach it without ego and sort of bow to Serling, that will hopefully suffice for our fellow Twilight Zone fans but also bring back a show that I think is needed right now. Because it’s a show that has always helped us look at ourselves, hold a mirror up to society.”
The Twilight Zone is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films. Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg serve as executive producers along with Win Rosenfeld, Audrey Chon, Glen Morgan, Carol Serling, Rick Berg, and Greg Yaitanes.
The Twilight Zone hits lands on CBS All Access on April 1st.
Do these casting decisions have you excited for the new series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
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